OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Providing for Consideration of H.R. 687, Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2013; Providing for Consideration of H.R. 1526, Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3102, Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act of 2013; and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 19, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Entitlements and the Safety Net Food Processing and Sales

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Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, this Republican ``let them starve'' bill would undermine what Professors Miguel Ferguson, Stacey Borasky, and Scott Harding recently described in an article as a ``modern antipoverty marvel.'' SNAP, they report, ``improves access to healthy meals for nearly one in three children. It also reduces chronic illness and hospitalizations and significantly reduces poverty and the severity of poverty.'' It ``keeps kids healthier, happier, and better prepared to do their best in school.'' And SNAP ``is one of the most efficient government programs, with a rigorous application process, high rates of payment accuracy, and low rates of misuse (about a 1 cent on the dollar).'' The main limitation is not that it helps feed too many people or costs too much but that almost 30 percent of those eligible get nothing.

We cannot snap our fingers and snap away poverty, but this bill will snap a vital lifeline. It must be rejected.

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